Humans > Strategy: Why Human Design Belongs in Your Business Strategy

Human Design for business owners is becoming an increasingly important part of how I think about strategy—not because I’ve abandoned everything I know about business and marketing, but because I’ve changed where I start.

I was catching up with another business owner recently and briefing her on the new direction of my business.

She made a comment that surprised me a bit.

She said she doesn’t often see business owners make the kind of transition I’m making—a nuanced evolution based on what they already know and understand, rather than a hard switch from one thing to something completely different.

Think: yoga teacher to business coach.

I hadn’t thought of what I’m doing as particularly unusual.

But maybe it is.

Because when I look at the evolution of my business, I can sum it up pretty simply:

Strategy first.

To:

Human first.

And when I look back at my experience, I can see that these two things have actually been playing in the same sandbox for most of my life.

From Understanding the Consumer to Understanding the Business Owner

I have always loved business.

I joined FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) in high school. I joined the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi in college. I thought the Wall Street Journal was fascinating the first time I had the opportunity to read it.

But as I took more and more business classes, the ones that floated to the top as my favorites always circled around the human.

Back then, though, the human was the consumer.

Why do people buy something on an endcap more than they do when it’s high on a shelf?

When does it make sense to speak to the end consumer versus the person with the purchasing power?

Why does one product sell better in one package than another?

What creates loyalty and repeat purchases?

I loved getting into the minds and behaviors of consumers.

And those questions are incredibly valuable when you’re working with bigger companies, products, retail space and competition.

But when I became a solopreneur—and found myself increasingly drawn to other service-based solopreneurs—the landscape changed.

I just didn’t recognize it at first.

Why Good Business Strategy Can Still Feel Wrong

So I went back to what I knew to be true: business and marketing principles.

What do we need to say? To whom? How, where and when do we say it to generate leads and serve customers?

I leaned into messaging, ideal clients and lead-generation tactics.

And I quickly noticed something.

There is just too much.

Too many people selling their magic formula for making millions. Supposedly. 😉

Too many people telling you the #1 mistake you’re making.

Too many things you “should” be doing.

It’s distracting.

I have two marketing degrees, and I got derailed by it multiple times.

So my mission became helping business owners get back on the rails and focus on what actually matters. I taught tried-and-true marketing strategies and tactics.

Helpful? Absolutely.

But I kept feeling like there was more to the story.

Because even a proven strategy isn’t necessarily the right strategy for every business owner.

A strategy can work beautifully for someone else and be incredibly difficult for you to sustain. Not because the strategy is bad. And not because you aren’t trying hard enough.

It may simply be a poor fit for the person who has to execute it.

That realization is also at the heart of how I think about an aligned marketing strategy: strategy still matters, but it needs to account for your goals, your clients, your capacity and how you actually work.

That’s where my thinking started to shift.

What Human Design for Business Owners Adds to the Conversation

Then I somewhat hesitantly looked at Human Design.

I got intrigued. Then put it on the back burner. 

Then got intrigued again. Then put it on the back burner again.

Then I got intrigued again, but this time I kept going.

And the next thing I knew, my business had changed.

Except I haven’t left strategy behind at all.

I’ve changed where I start.

I still look at business goals, ideal clients, positioning, messaging, lead generation, offers and all the other pieces that matter.

But now I start with the human.

And not the end human—the consumer.

The human leading the business.

Using Human Design for business owners gives us another lens through which to understand that person: how they naturally work, make decisions, communicate, connect with others and create value.

That information doesn’t replace good strategy.

It helps us build a strategy with more context.

What Does a Human Design Business Strategy Actually Look Like?

This is where Human Design becomes incredibly practical to me.

Instead of immediately asking:

What’s the right strategy?

I start with questions like:

• Who are you?
• Who are you naturally designed to serve?
• How do you work best?
• How do you naturally communicate and connect with people?
• Where do you create the most value for your clients?
• What are you uniquely here to be known for?

And, of course:

What are you actually trying to accomplish with your business?

Then we can talk strategy.

A Human Design business strategy isn’t about pulling up your chart and allowing it to dictate your business plan.

It’s about combining what we can learn about you with sound business strategy, your actual experiences, the realities of your market and the goals you want to achieve.

That’s a very different starting point from simply asking, “What’s working right now?”

And it’s the thinking behind the different ways I work with business owners—whether we’re looking at who you’re here to serve, resetting a strategy that no longer fits, or working together over time as your business grows.

An Aligned Business Strategy May Look Different for Everyone

Consider something as simple as content marketing.

One business owner may thrive creating frequent short-form content and being highly visible on social media.

Another may be exceptional at having deeper conversations, writing long-form content or building relationships one person at a time.

Or consider business models.

We’re constantly told to scale.

Create the course.

Build the membership.

Move away from 1:1 work.

Automate.

But what if your greatest value happens when you’re working directly with another person?

Does removing yourself from the work actually create a better business?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

That’s the point.

An aligned business strategy isn’t necessarily the strategy that is easiest. It isn’t an excuse to stay comfortable, either.

It’s a strategy that considers the person responsible for making it happen.

Because the business doesn’t exist separately from you. Especially when you’re a service-based solopreneur.

You are one of the most important variables in the strategy. And when I say one of the most important, I really mean THE MOST important. Hands down.

Human Design in Marketing Can Help Us Ask Better Questions

The same thinking applies when we use Human Design in marketing.

I’m still interested in all the things I’ve spent decades studying and doing professionally: ideal clients, messaging, positioning, lead generation, retention and strategy.

But Human Design gives me additional questions to bring into those conversations.

If you’re struggling to consistently market your business, for example, I don’t immediately want to hand you a content calendar.

I want to know why you’re struggling.

Is the platform wrong?

Is the format wrong?

Is your message unclear?

Are you trying to communicate in a way that doesn’t feel natural?

Are you talking to people you don’t particularly meant to serve?

Are you following someone else’s version of what successful marketing is supposed to look like?

Those answers matter.

And they can lead us toward a very different strategy.

I go deeper into some of the practical ways your design can influence your approach in Human Design and Marketing: How Understanding Your Energy Creates Simpler, More Sustainable Growth.

The Best Strategy Is the One That Fits the Human

I don’t believe Human Design has all the answers.

And I don’t believe we should throw decades of sound business and marketing strategy out the window because we have a chart.

Quite the opposite.

I’m interested in what happens when we bring those things together.

Human Design for business owners can give us clues about the person. Business and marketing strategy give us tools for getting where that person wants to go.

That’s the intersection I’m fascinated by.

Because the goal isn’t to find the supposedly perfect strategy and then contort yourself into the person capable of executing it.

The goal is to understand who you are, who you’re meant to serve and what you’re trying to accomplish—and build from there.

Human first.

Strategy second.

And then let’s see what becomes possible.

If you’re trying to grow your service-based business but aren’t sure what strategy actually makes sense for you, book a Clarity & Alignment Session. We’ll talk through where you are, where you want to go and what may be getting in the way.